Method of making gramophone-record tablets.



H. s. BERL-INBR.

PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

METHOD OF MAKING GRAMOEHONE RECORD TABLETS.

Qvihwaaea Shel lac FIBER Filler Pigment by Heating &

Kneading- Solid Mass Reduced to a FINE POWDER y Grinding.

Powder Reduced to o. Fluid condition by the addition of a liquid.

(Alcohol).

Viscous Fluid Ap lied to a Base,or to a. Sub-Base.

Applied Surface Rendered Plastic by Heating.

Sound-record pressed into surface.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11. 1907.

( -luvauioz mum,

HERBERT S. BERLINER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

METHOD OF MAKING GRAMOPHONE-RECORD TABLETS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 11. 1907. Serial No. 401- 725- Patented Feb. 11, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT S. BERLINER, a citizen of'the United States of America, residing. at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements in Method of Making Gramo hone-Record Tablets; and I do hereby dec are the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, whic form a part of this specification.

This invention has reference to the manufacture of gramophone sound-record tablets, and has for its object to reduce the cost of production Without impairing the durability or wearing qualities of the record.

In carrying my invention into effect, I first makea mixture of the ingredients or elements that ultimately form the surface in which the sound-grooves are impressed, and such mixture maybe made up of barites, silica or other earthy matter, a fiber, as cotton-flock, asbestos, shoddy or light fibrous material, with shellac; and when desired.

coloring matter may be added.

The above named equivalents thereof are t oroughly incororated or mixed together by heating and kneading, the mixture being rolled into sheets forming a solid mass when cool. This solidified base composed of granular material, a fiber, and shellac, is reduced by grinding to a fine powder, and such grinding of the hard or solid mass which has a fiber intermixed therewith produces a fine powder in which the fiber is thoroughly incorporated. It is important to note that, in order to grind the fiber into a powder, it must be incorporated into a hard cold mass forming a part thereof, and this is one of the particulars of my improvement over other methods which enables me to subse uently produce an entire] homogeneous fibrous fluid for coating the ard base of my-record.

Having reduced the fibrous mass to a fine powder, next bring it to fluidit by the addition. .of'alcoho'l; or other flui solvent of shella'c, the amount of alcohol or liquid that is added being sufficient to reduce the dry powder to a viscous fluid, andv such fluid is applied either to one or both sides of a solid base or foundation, for instance, a disk of pasteboard, wood, metal or resinous composition} in redients or the .heat, grindin or to a sub-base, as a sheet of paper, which may then be reinforced by a backing, and

when one coat or covering has been applied and has dried a second coat may be applied, and so on until a surface of the desired thickness issecured. The coat or coatin s may be applied by a brush or roller, and w en the solvent has evaporated, the mixture solidifies and forms a hard coating. Before impressin the sound-record into the surface of the tab et or disk it is heated to render the sound-record surface plastic, after which the sound-grooves are impressed therein in the usual manner, the disk being cooled while under pressure andwhile in close contact with the sound-record matrix.

I desire to cover in this application the method described for producing an entirely homogeneous fibrous fluid for making a gramophone record surface, and I do not roadly claim herein the general idea of coating a disk with a gramophone record composition in fluid form, drying the latter and impressing a record therein.

The method or process is illustrated by the accompanying diagram.

I claim:

1. The method of making gramophone sound-records, consisting in kneadin the materials which are to form the recor 'sur face, one of the materials being a fiber, the mixture being effected in the presence of the resulting mixture when cooled into a ne powder, mixingjhe powder with a proper liquid for changing the same into a viscous fluid, applyin one or more coats of such fluid to one or 0th sides of a disk, drying the surface, and impressin a sound-record into said surface-coatedk under heat and pressure.

2. The herein described method of making sound-record tablet surfaces for gramophones, -wh'ich consists in kneading under eat the materials, including. a fiber, which ultimately form the record-surface, grinding the resultant mass after cooling to a fine powder, reducing the powder to a viscous fluid by mixing the same with a li uid, ap-

lying one or more coats of said fl uid to a base or sub-base, to form when dried and subsequently softened by heat a surface in which the soundrooves are impressed.

3. The herein escribed method of making a sound-record surface for gramophone tablets consisting in incorporating by-heatin and kneading an earthy base, shellac, an

fiber, to form when 0001 a solid mass, reducing such mass by grinding to a fine powder, mixing the powder with alcohol to' form a viscous fluid, covering a base or sub-base with the mixture and when dry softening the applied mixture by heat preparatory to impressing the sound-grooves therein.

4. The method for making a surface for sound-record tablets, which consists in incorporating by kneading under heat an earthy granular base, fiber and shellac, with or without a pigment, cooling the same to form a solid mass, grinding the mass to a fine powder, mixing such owder with a fluid to reduce the same to uidity, applying such 15 mixture to a suitable base or sub-base to form when dried and subsequently softened by heat a surface in which the sound-grooves are impressed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 20 in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT s. BERLINER.

Witnesses DAVID RoTHsoHILn, JOSEPHINE AMEs. 

